Here's how COVID-19 has affected the start of IIMs' academic calendars

Many IIMs are contemplating delaying the start of their academic sessions by a few weeks. Read to know more.

Coronavirus has affected almost every sector not only in India but across the globe. To curb its spread, the nationwide lockdown, which has been extended till May 3, 2020, has led many B-schools to cancel their exams, classes and also postpone internships.

To compensate for the lost time, the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) are contemplating delaying the start of their academic sessions by a few weeks.

Associate Professor of Strategy and Chairperson Placement at IIM Ahmedabad said that the academic calendar is attuned to a certain cycle and the lockdown happened at the time when institutes have exams or internships. He further said that for those who have completed their graduation, this is the month they apply for jobs. “The timings couldn’t have been worse,” he added. Talking about how long IIMA has deferred the start of their academic session, he said, “We’re taking one step at a time, for now, two weeks should be okay. He also said that due to exceptional circumstances they have made adjustments to their credit system where they will accept six-week internships, instead of the usual eight weeks.

Janat Shah, Director of IIM Udaipur, said, “It’s easier to manage the one-month delay in the ongoing batch, closing of their session then just moves from March to April.” He also said that the delay will mean a reduction of the duration of the summer internship next year. IIM Udaipur will delay the start of the ongoing batch and the incoming batch. The Professor also mentioned that IIM Udaipur usually starts with the new batch around June 20 or 30 and the second year students resume their sessions on 1-7 June.

IIM Kozhikode is also prepared for a month’s delay. Debashis Chatterjee, Director IIM Kozhikode said, “It’s very likely that the academic year will shift by at least four weeks or even more.” He said that the institute will shift some of its content online so that the curriculum is covered easily as resorting to online classrooms would reduce the number of physical classes.

IIM Calcutta is planning to start at the right time, however, it plans to use the initial weeks for online preparation programme to keep the students engaged. While the institute is starting the Executive MBA programme at the same time on April 20, it will first have online pre-programme preparation classes. Regular course sessions that are likely to commence on May 4 on campus.

One of the major concerns for the incoming batch is that the majority of the students in IIMs are engineers and most IITs haven’t completed their last semester exams yet. So, that might add to the delay.

IIM Calcutta Director Anju Seth, said, “Besides changing our academic calendar for various programmes, we've expedited a successful transition to new models of online teaching in our programmes.”

The IIM directors are likely to meet over a video conference this week to review the current situation and hence take a collective decision on the admission cycle for this year.

Read More:

• List of Top IIMs in India: Ranking, Courses, Fees & Seat Intake

• COVID 19: Impact on B-Schools Across India: Campuses Shut, Classes Cancelled, Admission Deferred